Nanny? Nursery? Daycare?

My husband and I just up and left Washington DC to relocate to the UK (London) under the HSMP. We've been here two weeks with our 2 year old daughter and 1 year old son, and are adjusting...sort of. We are in a hotel now, after having been in a short term apt for 10 days whilst looking for a flat, semi-successfully. After being turned down by 3 landlords because of the children, we think we've got a teeny tiny mews house in St. Johns Wood and now I've got to find some sort of daycare for the kids so I can start making enough money to pay for the flat.  Does anyone have any insight into nurseries/nannies/daycare in North London? I'm only going to be working part-time, so I'll just need care three days/week--but my hours will be long so perhaps a nanny is the way to go. I keep seeing ads for nannies for 400npw and I don't know what that means--what is the 'n' for? I can't afford 400 pounds a week!  even with my husband working full-time, and me working part time but still getting paid fairly well. Any ideas? I'm panicking here! The kids are starting to show signs of fatigue and stress--loads of tears and tantrums suddenly and I need to be able to give them some sort of security and stability--and other kids to play with too! Also--any good, child-friendly restaurants that serve more than chicken and chips?? My poor babies haven't had a fresh vegetable in weeks! Thnks so much for your help--I imagine I'll be visiting this site a lot in the coming weeks.

I can't offer much advice on your need since I don't live in London. I just wanted to say hang in there--- I am amazed you have been able to stay sane making this move with two young children -- well done! It must be very difficult but I am sure you will get settled soon enough. Good Luck on your search for child care.

Helena

Don't live in London so can't help you there, but in our department we have a part-time lecturer (3 days/week) who has her kids in the University-subsidised nursery (that's what daycare is called here) and she pays £6,000/annum for her two youngsters (who are the same age as yours).

Nannies have qualifications and are usually 'vetted'/have background checks.  B/c of this, they can be quite expensive.  Does your house have spare room for an au pair?  That might be the way to go - although au pairs have restrictions on how many hours they can work/week in exchange for room and board and a fee. 

Good luck.

I am a nanny (in US) and I have also worked in day cares in the US and UK and I really beleive that the quality of care in a day care in the UK is much higher than in the US because they will generally only take people with qualifications.  They seem to have more rules and regulations and they are cleaner, better staffed and have lower child to carer ratios.  Have a look at the Ofstead site http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/childcare/

Have you thought about a nanny share?  You could advertise for one and potentially split the cost of a nanny with another family. 

Have you checked to see if you can get a tax credit for working famlies?  That should help with the costs of child care http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/pdfs/wtc_5.htm

Good luck!

Thanks so much for the info. I'm a little tired, so although I went to the site you provided I didn't quite take it all in. Can I get a childcare credit no matter how much money my husband and I make, or is it only for low-income families? We are going to be making, combined, anywhere from 70-80+K/year--which seems like a lot but definitely is not for the area.  I mean, our weekly rent is 440 pounds! 

Thanks so much for the info. I'm a little tired, so although I went to the site you provided I didn't quite take it all in. Can I get a childcare credit no matter how much money my husband and I make, or is it only for low-income families? We are going to be making, combined, anywhere from 70-80+K/year--which seems like a lot but definitely is not for the area.  I mean, our weekly rent is 440 pounds! 

People on HSMP have no recourse to public funds.  That includes Child Benefit and tax credits.  Making a claim for such is a violation of the visa.  You must have ILR (permanent residency) or be an EU/EEA national working in the UK to apply for Child Benefit or tax credits.  Even for UK nationals, tax credits are set up to top up childcare cost for lower-income families, so as to make working more attractive than staying on the dole.  A UK national/permanent resident couples' joint income is considered whilst applying and no adjustment is made for the region of the country in which they live. 

Another idea is to check your local council's website.  Ours has a link to registered childminders in town.

People on HSMP have no recourse to public funds.  That includes Child Benefit and tax credits.  Making a claim for such is a violation of the visa.  You must have ILR (permanent residency) or be an EU/EEA national working in the UK to apply for Child Benefit or tax credits.  Even for UK nationals, tax credits are set up to top up childcare cost for lower-income families, so as to make working more attractive than staying on the dole.  A UK national/permanent resident couples' joint income is considered whilst applying and no adjustment is made for the region of the country in which they live.

That makes sense. So do we get a different tax code because we have children? My husband's employer told us that it is very important that we tell the gov't we have kids because we will fall under a different tax code??? We're not quite sure what that means.

No, you have to make an application for tax credits but as expat says you're not eligible if you're on HSMP visa. 

Yes nannies are really £400 p/w, unreal isn't it? Some people share nannies, I know a couple who share with another couple and they pay half each of the nanny's wages.  Other people I know use daycare centres or a registered childminder. They can still be pretty pricey though.

That makes sense. So do we get a different tax code because we have children? My husband's employer told us that it is very important that we tell the gov't we have kids because we will fall under a different tax code??? We're not quite sure what that means.

Um, you can tell the US government you have kids when you complete your US tax return, b/c you still have to do one of those even if you are not working in the US.  But most people in the UK who are not self-employed are PAYE - pay as you earn - and it makes no difference if you have kids or not.